Plans to restore Island Road moving ahead

Wednesday

Mar 6, 2013 at 7:43 PM

Terrebonne Parish will again restore Island Road back to its pre-storm condition, but some people question how long the repairs will last.

Chance RyanStaff Writer

Terrebonne Parish will again restore Island Road back to its pre-storm condition, but some people question how long the repairs will last.With water on both sides, Island Road is the sole land route linking Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes to Isle de Jean Charles, which is home to roughly two dozen families, most of which are American Indian. The 2.36-mile road has been eroded by high tides and storm surges for years.The parish recently appointed All South Consulting Engineers to draw up a contract to restore the road's shoulders after they sustained damages from Hurricane Isaac last year. Construction will start after plans are revised to meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency's requirements and the Parish Council approves a contractor.Parish officials have asked the parish-hired engineering firm to make the shoulder restoration project a priority and expect to break ground in about three months. The caveat, however, is that the mostly federally funded project must follow the same FEMA guidelines as when the road was restored in 2008, which everyone involved largely contends will only result in a temporary fix from heavy storm surges. Terrebonne's Public Works Director Greg Bush said the parish has argued this point to FEMA since hurricanes Gustav and Ike essentially destroyed the road in 2008. “We have made every attempt to qualify for mitigation to make improvements to the road, and each time FEMA has refused, saying it doesn't meet the criteria,” Bush said. Bush said he is determined to prove to FEMA there are cost benefits to improving the road.Ideally, Bush wants to use asphalt shoulders and concrete curbs with slots in them designed to break the water surges as they come across the road, eating away its base. But FEMA is requiring the parish to use limestone on the shoulders and 40-pound rocks along the sides.The parish has worked out a 75-25 cost-share agreement with FEMA for the $455,000 project, which will cost the parish roughly $113,000. The agency paid $6.24 million in repairs on the road in 2011, two years after Gustav. Residents are happy the road is being repaired. At the same time, developers and residents know the repairs will not ensure a long-term fix. “As the roadway gets damaged by another hurricane, we will make another claim to FEMA,” said Perry Blanchard, parish operations manager. “Of course we would like a roadway to be there forever, but we know that's not going to happen. FEMA has indicated to us that this is how they want the road built.”Former Terrebonne Parish Councilman Johnny Pizzolatto has been a vocal opponent to a rebuilt Island Road, saying the money would be better used to relocate island residents. “How much longer are we going to spend on repairing that road?” Pizzolatto said. “The people on the island can either stay or they can be bought out because eventually that road is not going to be there anymore — it's just a matter of time.”Councilman Peter Lambert, whose district includes the island, disagrees.“We have to maintain that road,” he said. “That's our road.”The shoulders saved the road from being completely washed away before, Lambert said, and that's why they need to be repaired for next hurricane season.“If we don't, then we will really be losing some money. This is peanuts compared to what we would be spending on the road.” The FEMA money has to be spent on public infrastructure, Lambert said.Lori Ann Chaisson, vice principal chief of the United Houma Nation who also represents the residents on the island, said if the road is not restored correctly by elevating it and applying the proper foundation, it's going to continue having issues. “Right now, it's dangerous,” Chaisson said. “There are drop-offs where, if you hit the shoulder just a little bit, you're going in the water.”Still, Chaisson said the repairs are better than nothing because the road remains a vital resource to the community — locally and otherwise. “On the weekend, especially when it's shrimping season, you can't even put a car on the road it's so packed,” she said. “And it's not all local people — it's people from elsewhere in the area. People fish, and the way the economy is today, they fish to put food on the table.” Theo Chaisson, the 75-year-old owner of the island's only marina, said the construction should include more resilient material instead of limestone, which was used on the shoulder before. “If they come back and use limestone, they're wasting a lot of time and money for nothing.”

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